The talent, experience, and commitment of our leadership is one of our greatest strengths.
Their principles enable us to navigate the complexities of modern healthcare delivery without ever losing sight of the reason for our existence: To make healthcare a fundamental right available to all.
Since 1972, our leaders have been dedicated to bringing our communities the services that they lack. From one dental chair in Middletown to over 200 locations across the state, their passion for service remains strong and is critical to our success.
This passion combined with a drive for innovation and excellence steers our teams to high-quality service for our patients.
Founder, President, and CEO
Senior Vice President and Clinical Director
Mark Masselli is president, CEO, and founder of Community Health Center, Inc. (CHC), Connecticut’s largest provider of medical, dental, and behavioral healthcare for the underserved. He is also is founder, president and CEO of the Moses/Weitzman Health System, the nation’s first primary care health system, working with organizations in all 50 states and globally. A Middletown, Conn. native, Masselli founded CHC in 1972 with a group of Wesleyan University students and local community activists on the premise that “Health care is a right and not a privilege.” CHC provides comprehensive, team-based primary care services to more than 150,000 people at 200+ sites across Connecticut, and is an innovator in the delivery of primary care for special populations. Masselli serves as board chair of the National Institute for Medical Assistant Advancement and of the national specialty e-Consult provider ConferMED, is a member of the Goodspeed Opera House Board of Trustees, and is an Executive Committee member and Board Chair-Elect of the national School-Based Health Alliance. He received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Wesleyan University in 2009.
Chief Quality Officer
Chief Psychiatry Officer
Dr. Daren Anderson is a general internist and has worked in safety net practices for his entire career. He is VP/Chief Quality Officer of Community Health Center, Inc., a large, multisite community health center providing primary care to over 145,000 medically underserved patients across Connecticut. Dr. Anderson is also President of the Board of Community eConsult Network (CeCN).
Dr. Anderson was Director of CHC’s Weitzman Institute, a research and innovations center dedicated to improving primary care for underserved populations, for eight years. The Weitzman Institute leads a range of initiatives focused on practice transformation and workforce development and has created an eConsult process that is now being used across Connecticut and in ten additional states. In addition, Weitzman researchers are engaged in a range of research projects focused on health disparities, telehealth, and pain and opioid abuse treatment in primary care.
Dr. Anderson obtained his undergraduate degree at Harvard College and his medical degree from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He completed his residency training in internal medicine at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
Dr. Tichianaa Armah, a Bronx, NY native, graduated from Swarthmore College with a B.A. in psychology and received her Medical Degree from the University of Rochester, the home of the Biopsychosocial model of health care. In her final year of residency at the Yale School of Medicine, she was the American Psychiatric Association Minority Fellow while serving as the chief resident of the Hispanic Clinic at the Community Mental Health Center. Dr. Armah is the Chief Psychiatry Officer at Community Health Center Inc. She is driven to increase access to quality mental health care for our most vulnerable populations. To achieve these goals Dr. Armah's mission is twofold: community engagement and training the next generation in the mental health field with an integrated approach in primary care settings. Wellness and mental health in all communities has been an important element of her work since the early years of her training. Concern for particularly disadvantaged communities bearing the greater burden of disease, including African Americans and Latino populations, led her to be one of the early organizers of the Yale School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry's Social Justice and Health Equity curriculum. She remains an Assistant Clinical Professor in the department. Beginning in medical school, she facilitated workshops incorporating physical and mental well-being through approaching lifestyle change, with lectures, exercise, and cooking lessons at a local church for the members. She continues to approach her local communities and patients with her fundamental value of overall well-being as key to mental health, believing strongly that medication alone is rarely the solution. She can frequently be found in schools and churches talking about the mental health field to encourage more underrepresented minorities to enter the field. Her most recent efforts also includes increasing access to psychiatry through tele-psychiatry services from experienced mental health professionals.
She was recently honored by the Connecticut Psychiatric Society with the Roger Coleman Memorial Award for her exemplary devotion to patients and commitment to quality care.
Mark Masselli is president, CEO, and founder of Community Health Center, Inc. (CHC), Connecticut’s largest provider of medical, dental, and behavioral healthcare for the underserved. He is also is founder, president and CEO of the Moses/Weitzman Health System, the nation’s first primary care health system, working with organizations in all 50 states and globally. A Middletown, Conn. native, Masselli founded CHC in 1972 with a group of Wesleyan University students and local community activists on the premise that “Health care is a right and not a privilege.” CHC provides comprehensive, team-based primary care services to more than 150,000 people at 200+ sites across Connecticut, and is an innovator in the delivery of primary care for special populations. Masselli serves as board chair of the National Institute for Medical Assistant Advancement and of the national specialty e-Consult provider ConferMED, is a member of the Goodspeed Opera House Board of Trustees, and is an Executive Committee member and Board Chair-Elect of the national School-Based Health Alliance. He received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Wesleyan University in 2009.
Dr. Daren Anderson is a general internist and has worked in safety net practices for his entire career. He is VP/Chief Quality Officer of Community Health Center, Inc., a large, multisite community health center providing primary care to over 145,000 medically underserved patients across Connecticut. Dr. Anderson is also President of the Board of Community eConsult Network (CeCN).
Dr. Anderson was Director of CHC’s Weitzman Institute, a research and innovations center dedicated to improving primary care for underserved populations, for eight years. The Weitzman Institute leads a range of initiatives focused on practice transformation and workforce development and has created an eConsult process that is now being used across Connecticut and in ten additional states. In addition, Weitzman researchers are engaged in a range of research projects focused on health disparities, telehealth, and pain and opioid abuse treatment in primary care.
Dr. Anderson obtained his undergraduate degree at Harvard College and his medical degree from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He completed his residency training in internal medicine at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
Dr. Tichianaa Armah, a Bronx, NY native, graduated from Swarthmore College with a B.A. in psychology and received her Medical Degree from the University of Rochester, the home of the Biopsychosocial model of health care. In her final year of residency at the Yale School of Medicine, she was the American Psychiatric Association Minority Fellow while serving as the chief resident of the Hispanic Clinic at the Community Mental Health Center. Dr. Armah is the Chief Psychiatry Officer at Community Health Center Inc. She is driven to increase access to quality mental health care for our most vulnerable populations. To achieve these goals Dr. Armah's mission is twofold: community engagement and training the next generation in the mental health field with an integrated approach in primary care settings. Wellness and mental health in all communities has been an important element of her work since the early years of her training. Concern for particularly disadvantaged communities bearing the greater burden of disease, including African Americans and Latino populations, led her to be one of the early organizers of the Yale School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry's Social Justice and Health Equity curriculum. She remains an Assistant Clinical Professor in the department. Beginning in medical school, she facilitated workshops incorporating physical and mental well-being through approaching lifestyle change, with lectures, exercise, and cooking lessons at a local church for the members. She continues to approach her local communities and patients with her fundamental value of overall well-being as key to mental health, believing strongly that medication alone is rarely the solution. She can frequently be found in schools and churches talking about the mental health field to encourage more underrepresented minorities to enter the field. Her most recent efforts also includes increasing access to psychiatry through tele-psychiatry services from experienced mental health professionals.
She was recently honored by the Connecticut Psychiatric Society with the Roger Coleman Memorial Award for her exemplary devotion to patients and commitment to quality care.
Chief Nursing Officer
Director of Facilities
Mary Blankson DNP, APRN, FNP-C, FAAN is the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) for Community Health Center, Inc., overseeing diverse nursing services across the CHC network, including primary care, health care for the homeless, and school based health services. As CNO she ensures the quality and expansion of nursing services, the development of nursing policy, and continuing nurse education. Mary also works collaboratively to ensure Joint Commission and Patient Centered Medical Home compliance throughout CHC.
Building upon her service in various mission organizations, Mary continued to develop her passion for meeting the needs of the underserved by earning her MSN at Yale University in 2005. Mary joined CHC as a family nurse practitioner shortly after graduation. While at CHC, Mary has served as the On-Site Medical Director of the New London County Sites, the Vice President of the Medical Staff, the Chair of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, and has served as a preceptor for CHC’s Nurse Practitioner Residency Program. She completed her DNP education at Johns Hopkins University in 2015 with her capstone focusing on “Increasing Identification and Treatment Referral of Individuals with Hepatitis C (HCV) in the Primary Care Setting Through Clinical Dashboards.” Mary is certified and holds professional membership in the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. She continues to support various quality improvement projects throughout the agency to increase the visibility of nursing’s contribution to the Medical Home. In 2017, Dr. Blankson was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree by Quinnipiac University School of Nursing for her contribution to nursing and for helping meet the health care needs of the underserved.
Matthew Griswold
Matt is a graduate of UMASS Amherst with a B.A. in Business and spent the last 18 years working in healthcare and general industry, safety, emergency management and facilities operations. Matt most recently served as the Senior Manager of Facilities Engineering at Connecticut Children’s where he managed 18 tradesmen and 4 managers serving over 50 sites. Matt’s responsibilities included plant operations, real estate, property management and environmental compliance. Matt was also the chair of the environment of care committee and has lead teams through several surveys as well as 7 Joint Commission accreditation surveys amongst other regulatory reviews.
Matt is a member of the New England Healthcare Engineer’s Society (NEHES) and served as he secretary for the state chapter of healthcare engineers (CHES). Matt additionally holds certifications in healthcare safety (CHSP) and has his CHFM from the American Hospital Association.
Medical Director, Center for Key Populations
Director, Center for Key Populations
Marwan Haddad is the Medical Director of the Center for Key Populations. He joined Community Health Center, Inc. in July 2006. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College and his medical degree from McGill University. He completed his family medicine residency at University of Toronto and obtained his Masters in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University. He is board certified in Family Medicine. He is certified by the American Academy of HIV Medicine as an HIV specialist. He was also the recipient of the 2011 Primary Care Leadership Award presented by the Connecticut Center for Primary Care. Dr. Haddad is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Family Medicine at Quinnipiac University. Since January 2012, Dr. Haddad has led the CHC Project ECHO HIV, Hepatitis C, and Buprenorphine programs which expand the integration of these programs not only within CHC but nationwide. This model of care utilizes didactic and case-based learning via video conferences with medical providers, offering ongoing support, consultation and guidance to aid in delivering care to the HIV, Hepatitis C, and opioid using populations. In 2021, Dr. Haddad was named Chair of the HIV Medicine Association.
Moreover, Dr. Haddad has taught and lectured at state and national conferences on HIV, Hepatitis C, medication assisted treatment and substance use management, and integrated care. He has published research on the integration of medication assisted treatment such as buprenorphine in community health centers examining both substance use as well as primary care outcomes.
Ms. Harding began her career at CHC as the Director of the Ryan White Program. Since then, she has taken administrative and programmatic responsibility for Healthcare for the Homeless (WYA), Hepatitis C, and TEACH–BMT Programs. She was responsible for the development & implementation of CHC’s HIV prevention and PrEP programs, providing health care services for vulnerable populations.
Mary Blankson DNP, APRN, FNP-C, FAAN is the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) for Community Health Center, Inc., overseeing diverse nursing services across the CHC network, including primary care, health care for the homeless, and school based health services. As CNO she ensures the quality and expansion of nursing services, the development of nursing policy, and continuing nurse education. Mary also works collaboratively to ensure Joint Commission and Patient Centered Medical Home compliance throughout CHC.
Building upon her service in various mission organizations, Mary continued to develop her passion for meeting the needs of the underserved by earning her MSN at Yale University in 2005. Mary joined CHC as a family nurse practitioner shortly after graduation. While at CHC, Mary has served as the On-Site Medical Director of the New London County Sites, the Vice President of the Medical Staff, the Chair of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, and has served as a preceptor for CHC’s Nurse Practitioner Residency Program. She completed her DNP education at Johns Hopkins University in 2015 with her capstone focusing on “Increasing Identification and Treatment Referral of Individuals with Hepatitis C (HCV) in the Primary Care Setting Through Clinical Dashboards.” Mary is certified and holds professional membership in the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. She continues to support various quality improvement projects throughout the agency to increase the visibility of nursing’s contribution to the Medical Home. In 2017, Dr. Blankson was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree by Quinnipiac University School of Nursing for her contribution to nursing and for helping meet the health care needs of the underserved.
Matthew Griswold
Matt is a graduate of UMASS Amherst with a B.A. in Business and spent the last 18 years working in healthcare and general industry, safety, emergency management and facilities operations. Matt most recently served as the Senior Manager of Facilities Engineering at Connecticut Children’s where he managed 18 tradesmen and 4 managers serving over 50 sites. Matt’s responsibilities included plant operations, real estate, property management and environmental compliance. Matt was also the chair of the environment of care committee and has lead teams through several surveys as well as 7 Joint Commission accreditation surveys amongst other regulatory reviews.
Matt is a member of the New England Healthcare Engineer’s Society (NEHES) and served as he secretary for the state chapter of healthcare engineers (CHES). Matt additionally holds certifications in healthcare safety (CHSP) and has his CHFM from the American Hospital Association.
Marwan Haddad is the Medical Director of the Center for Key Populations. He joined Community Health Center, Inc. in July 2006. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College and his medical degree from McGill University. He completed his family medicine residency at University of Toronto and obtained his Masters in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University. He is board certified in Family Medicine. He is certified by the American Academy of HIV Medicine as an HIV specialist. He was also the recipient of the 2011 Primary Care Leadership Award presented by the Connecticut Center for Primary Care. Dr. Haddad is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Family Medicine at Quinnipiac University. Since January 2012, Dr. Haddad has led the CHC Project ECHO HIV, Hepatitis C, and Buprenorphine programs which expand the integration of these programs not only within CHC but nationwide. This model of care utilizes didactic and case-based learning via video conferences with medical providers, offering ongoing support, consultation and guidance to aid in delivering care to the HIV, Hepatitis C, and opioid using populations. In 2021, Dr. Haddad was named Chair of the HIV Medicine Association.
Moreover, Dr. Haddad has taught and lectured at state and national conferences on HIV, Hepatitis C, medication assisted treatment and substance use management, and integrated care. He has published research on the integration of medication assisted treatment such as buprenorphine in community health centers examining both substance use as well as primary care outcomes.
Ms. Harding began her career at CHC as the Director of the Ryan White Program. Since then, she has taken administrative and programmatic responsibility for Healthcare for the Homeless (WYA), Hepatitis C, and TEACH–BMT Programs. She was responsible for the development & implementation of CHC’s HIV prevention and PrEP programs, providing health care services for vulnerable populations.
Vice President, Eastern Region
Chief Behavioral Health Officer
Yvette is the Vice President of Community Health Center, Inc.’s Eastern Region. Yvette has worked with CHCI for 28 years in a variety of capacities. In her current role, she oversees eight of the fourteen CHCI locations in New Britain, Enfield, Hartford, Middletown, Clinton, Old Saybrook, New London and Groton as well as the School Based Health services across the state.
Yvette has been instrumental in the openings of the CHCI locations in Enfield, Waterbury and Bristol. In the early phases of her career, Yvette worked directly with countless individuals and families providing support to address the social determinants of health and to improve the quality of life for those she worked with.
Committed to the elimination of racial/ethnic health care disparities; Yvette works diligently to ensure that the community’s most vulnerable residents continue to have access to quality medical, dental, mental health and school-based services and that those services are delivered with dignity and respect. Yvette is actively engaged in the communities she serves and is committed to public and civic service in her personal time as well. Yvette currently oversees Community Advisory committees and is the co-chair of the PCMH+ Oversight Committee.
Yvette is a graduate of the UCLA/Johnson & Johnson Health Care Executive program as well as the Connecticut Health Foundation’s 2009 Health Leadership Fellows Program.
Yvette was a Martin Luther King Scholar at Long Island University and received her Master’s Degree in Management from Cambridge College. She has received recognition on the local, state and national level for her work with individuals living with HIV and AIDS. She has received numerous awards and recognition for her work within CHCI and in the community at large.
Dr. Kearney earned his BA with a combined major in Psychology and Spanish Literature at Yale University and pursued graduate work at Fuller Theological Seminary where he earned his MA (Theology) from the Graduate School of Theology and his Ph.D. (Clinical Psychology) from the Graduate School of Psychology. He has also completed the post graduate Primary Care Behavioral Health training program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester. He is a licensed psychologist in Connecticut.
He joined the Community Health Center behavioral health staff in 1998. He is the author of Caring for Sexually Abused Children: A Handbook for Families and Churches (Intervarsity Press, 2001). In addition to administrative and clinical leadership of the Behavioral Health programs at CHC, Dr. Kearney supervises and trains postdoctoral psychology residents, co-leads psychotherapy groups with students and younger staff to train them in the provision of child group therapy, and provides direct client care with the clinical focus of providing care to children and adolescents and their families, especially those impacted by medical illness, trauma, and abuse.
Chief Clinical Excellence Officer
Vice President, Western Region
Karoline Oliveira, Ed.D, is the Chief Clinical Excellence Officer at Community Health Center, Inc. Prior to joining CHC, she held leadership positions at the Life University and the University of Rhode Island, from which she received her B.S. and M.S. Karoline received her Ed.D. in Higher Education Leadership from Johnson & Wales University. She brings to CHC more than 15 years of experience in driving innovation and furthering the vision and mission of organizations.
Dr. Nicole Seagriff is Vice President of the Community Health Center Inc.’s Western Region, which includes mobile, school based and fixes sites in Stamford, Norwalk, Danbury, Meriden, Bristol and Waterbury.
She attended Boston College and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2007. Upon graduation, she began work as a Registered Nurse in the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Yale New Haven Hospital while completing her Master of Science in Nursing degree at Yale University in 2011 to become a Family Nurse Practitioner. In 2016, she graduated with her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from Duke University with a focus on genetic testing for breast cancer mutations in underserved populations.
While at Yale, she recognized the need for access to primary care services for underserved patients and chose to complete an additional year of training through the nation’s first nurse practitioner residency program at the Community Health Center, Inc. (CHCI) based in Middletown, CT. After completion of the NP residency program, she worked as a primary care provider at CHCI for nearly 12 years where she also served as the On-Site Medical Director of the Norwalk and Stamford locations. In addition to this, and with an ever present appreciation for post graduate training, she was Clinical Program Director of the National Nurse Practitioner Residency Program from 2018-2023.
In addition to work, she is President of The Pink Agenda, a 501(c)(3) dedicated to raising money and awareness among young professionals for breast cancer research and care. Since its inception less than a decade ago, The Pink Agenda has raised nearly $8 million for life saving research. She is also a former Alumni Board member for her high school alma mater, Sacred Heart Greenwich, where she was the graduation commencement speaker in 2020. In 2022, she was named the Yale School of Nursing Decade Award winner.
Yvette is the Vice President of Community Health Center, Inc.’s Eastern Region. Yvette has worked with CHCI for 28 years in a variety of capacities. In her current role, she oversees eight of the fourteen CHCI locations in New Britain, Enfield, Hartford, Middletown, Clinton, Old Saybrook, New London and Groton as well as the School Based Health services across the state.
Yvette has been instrumental in the openings of the CHCI locations in Enfield, Waterbury and Bristol. In the early phases of her career, Yvette worked directly with countless individuals and families providing support to address the social determinants of health and to improve the quality of life for those she worked with.
Committed to the elimination of racial/ethnic health care disparities; Yvette works diligently to ensure that the community’s most vulnerable residents continue to have access to quality medical, dental, mental health and school-based services and that those services are delivered with dignity and respect. Yvette is actively engaged in the communities she serves and is committed to public and civic service in her personal time as well. Yvette currently oversees Community Advisory committees and is the co-chair of the PCMH+ Oversight Committee.
Yvette is a graduate of the UCLA/Johnson & Johnson Health Care Executive program as well as the Connecticut Health Foundation’s 2009 Health Leadership Fellows Program.
Yvette was a Martin Luther King Scholar at Long Island University and received her Master’s Degree in Management from Cambridge College. She has received recognition on the local, state and national level for her work with individuals living with HIV and AIDS. She has received numerous awards and recognition for her work within CHCI and in the community at large.
Dr. Kearney earned his BA with a combined major in Psychology and Spanish Literature at Yale University and pursued graduate work at Fuller Theological Seminary where he earned his MA (Theology) from the Graduate School of Theology and his Ph.D. (Clinical Psychology) from the Graduate School of Psychology. He has also completed the post graduate Primary Care Behavioral Health training program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester. He is a licensed psychologist in Connecticut.
He joined the Community Health Center behavioral health staff in 1998. He is the author of Caring for Sexually Abused Children: A Handbook for Families and Churches (Intervarsity Press, 2001). In addition to administrative and clinical leadership of the Behavioral Health programs at CHC, Dr. Kearney supervises and trains postdoctoral psychology residents, co-leads psychotherapy groups with students and younger staff to train them in the provision of child group therapy, and provides direct client care with the clinical focus of providing care to children and adolescents and their families, especially those impacted by medical illness, trauma, and abuse.
Karoline Oliveira, Ed.D, is the Chief Clinical Excellence Officer at Community Health Center, Inc. Prior to joining CHC, she held leadership positions at the Life University and the University of Rhode Island, from which she received her B.S. and M.S. Karoline received her Ed.D. in Higher Education Leadership from Johnson & Wales University. She brings to CHC more than 15 years of experience in driving innovation and furthering the vision and mission of organizations.
Dr. Nicole Seagriff is Vice President of the Community Health Center Inc.’s Western Region, which includes mobile, school based and fixes sites in Stamford, Norwalk, Danbury, Meriden, Bristol and Waterbury.
She attended Boston College and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2007. Upon graduation, she began work as a Registered Nurse in the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Yale New Haven Hospital while completing her Master of Science in Nursing degree at Yale University in 2011 to become a Family Nurse Practitioner. In 2016, she graduated with her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from Duke University with a focus on genetic testing for breast cancer mutations in underserved populations.
While at Yale, she recognized the need for access to primary care services for underserved patients and chose to complete an additional year of training through the nation’s first nurse practitioner residency program at the Community Health Center, Inc. (CHCI) based in Middletown, CT. After completion of the NP residency program, she worked as a primary care provider at CHCI for nearly 12 years where she also served as the On-Site Medical Director of the Norwalk and Stamford locations. In addition to this, and with an ever present appreciation for post graduate training, she was Clinical Program Director of the National Nurse Practitioner Residency Program from 2018-2023.
In addition to work, she is President of The Pink Agenda, a 501(c)(3) dedicated to raising money and awareness among young professionals for breast cancer research and care. Since its inception less than a decade ago, The Pink Agenda has raised nearly $8 million for life saving research. She is also a former Alumni Board member for her high school alma mater, Sacred Heart Greenwich, where she was the graduation commencement speaker in 2020. In 2022, she was named the Yale School of Nursing Decade Award winner.
Vice President of Practice Administration
Chief Dental Officer
Mette Smith is the Vice President of Practice Administration at Community Health Center. In this role, she is responsible for all aspects of practice operations in support of the strategic mission, including excellence in service delivery, patient experience and access. Mette leads cross-functional teams to improve practice performance across all of CHC’s health center locations.
Mette has years of experience in healthcare system operations, process improvement, project management, training, employer services, quality and acquisitions. Prior to joining CHC, Mette was Director of Process Improvement and Operations at PhysicianOne Urgent Care, where she was responsible for the integration and management of PhysicianOne’s partnerships with Yale New Haven Health System and Tufts Medical Center. She also led the acquisition of 7 new locations. Prior to joining PhysicianOne, Mette was the Process Improvement Coach at ProHealth Physicians where she created and delivered workflows that resulted in high quality, efficient, patient and family-centered care.
She is guided by a strong philosophy of achieving positive outcomes through critical thinking, team collaboration and employee development.
Mette earned her Master of Management, Strategy and Leadership from Michigan State University and graduated from Albertus Magnus College summa cum laude with a degree in Business Management. She is a Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.
Sheela Tummala, DDS, MPH is the Chief Dental Officer for the Community Health Center, Inc. Prior to joining CHC in 2006, Dr. Tummala worked as a general dentist at Meri Care Dental in Meriden and also served as an onsite dental director since 2006. Dr. Tummala also worked in her own private practice in Woodbury until 2015.
In her role at CHC, Dr. Tummala treats patients, supervises staff, and maintains the goals and needs of the staff. Dr. Tummala also serves as the Dental Quality Improvement Chairman for CHC, where she is responsible for conducting meetings, writing policies, maintaining quality improvement, and assessing the needs for quality improvement from the patient and staff perspective.
Dr. Tummala has served on a number of committees such as the Electronic Dental Records Committee where she was responsible for the creation of templates in open dental and consent forms. Dr. Tummala, who has a passion for research, was involved in the research study “Side effects of Triazolam in Children” published in American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry 21:1, 1999. She is also involved in organizing many events such as the Mission of Mercy events at CHC.
Dr. Tummala completed her DDS degree at New York University and her General Practice Residency at Jamaica Hospital in Queens, N.Y. She also completed her MPH at Western Kentucky University.
She says her favorite part of providing dental services to CHC patients is “Patients appreciating the work you do for them, changing their smiles, and helping to take them out of pain.”
Dr. Tummala also loves to sing, dance, hike and cook!
Chief Medical Officer
Director of Community Engagement and Relations
Dr. Eric R. Vaught is the Chief Medical Officer of Community Health Center, Inc. (CHC). He is responsible for the clinical leadership of more than 200 providers caring for more than 100,000 Connecticut residents annually at the state’s largest community health center. Dr. Vaught came to CHC from HealthFirst Family Health Center in Fall River, Massachusetts, where he served as Chief Medical Officer. Prior to HealthFirst, he was a physician at the Naval Hospital in Naples, Italy. While overseas, he served as the Navy’s Regional Public Health Emergency Officer and was the public health lead in Europe and Africa, advising the Navy and Marine Corps on operational readiness to support more than 20,000 active duty, government civilians, and their families during COVID-19. Dr. Vaught earned his DO from Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, an MBA from Rockhurst University, and an MPH from the University of West Florida. He is a Fellow, American College of Healthcare Executives; Fellow, American Academy of Family Physicians; Member, American Academy of Physician Leaders; and served as a Medical Advisor to the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers.
Gary Wallace is Director of Community Engagement and Relations at Community Health Center, Inc. In this role, he is responsible for leading CHC’s statewide strategic plan for building healthier communities and addressing health equity through strong and responsive local, regional and statewide partnerships.
Gary was previously an operations specialist in the US Navy, and joined the City of Middletown Police Department in 1994, rising through several promotions to the rank of Captain.
Gary has deep roots in the community. His civic involvement extends to many state and national organizations, including service on the boards of directors of the Community Foundation of Middlesex County, Middlesex Health, the North End Action Team, Gilead Community Services, and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. He has served on advisory committees at CHC, Wesleyan, and Middlesex Community College. He mentors youth through the Middlesex Chamber, is active in the Middletown PBA Pipes and Drums, and is a member of American Legion Post 75. Gary has been recognized for outstanding community service by numerous organizations, including the Mayor’s office, Middletown Public Schools, the CT Coalition Against Domestic Violence, CT Sexual Assault Crisis Services, and 100 Men of Color.
Mette Smith is the Vice President of Practice Administration at Community Health Center. In this role, she is responsible for all aspects of practice operations in support of the strategic mission, including excellence in service delivery, patient experience and access. Mette leads cross-functional teams to improve practice performance across all of CHC’s health center locations.
Mette has years of experience in healthcare system operations, process improvement, project management, training, employer services, quality and acquisitions. Prior to joining CHC, Mette was Director of Process Improvement and Operations at PhysicianOne Urgent Care, where she was responsible for the integration and management of PhysicianOne’s partnerships with Yale New Haven Health System and Tufts Medical Center. She also led the acquisition of 7 new locations. Prior to joining PhysicianOne, Mette was the Process Improvement Coach at ProHealth Physicians where she created and delivered workflows that resulted in high quality, efficient, patient and family-centered care.
She is guided by a strong philosophy of achieving positive outcomes through critical thinking, team collaboration and employee development.
Mette earned her Master of Management, Strategy and Leadership from Michigan State University and graduated from Albertus Magnus College summa cum laude with a degree in Business Management. She is a Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.
Sheela Tummala, DDS, MPH is the Chief Dental Officer for the Community Health Center, Inc. Prior to joining CHC in 2006, Dr. Tummala worked as a general dentist at Meri Care Dental in Meriden and also served as an onsite dental director since 2006. Dr. Tummala also worked in her own private practice in Woodbury until 2015.
In her role at CHC, Dr. Tummala treats patients, supervises staff, and maintains the goals and needs of the staff. Dr. Tummala also serves as the Dental Quality Improvement Chairman for CHC, where she is responsible for conducting meetings, writing policies, maintaining quality improvement, and assessing the needs for quality improvement from the patient and staff perspective.
Dr. Tummala has served on a number of committees such as the Electronic Dental Records Committee where she was responsible for the creation of templates in open dental and consent forms. Dr. Tummala, who has a passion for research, was involved in the research study “Side effects of Triazolam in Children” published in American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry 21:1, 1999. She is also involved in organizing many events such as the Mission of Mercy events at CHC.
Dr. Tummala completed her DDS degree at New York University and her General Practice Residency at Jamaica Hospital in Queens, N.Y. She also completed her MPH at Western Kentucky University.
She says her favorite part of providing dental services to CHC patients is “Patients appreciating the work you do for them, changing their smiles, and helping to take them out of pain.”
Dr. Tummala also loves to sing, dance, hike and cook!
Dr. Eric R. Vaught is the Chief Medical Officer of Community Health Center, Inc. (CHC). He is responsible for the clinical leadership of more than 200 providers caring for more than 100,000 Connecticut residents annually at the state’s largest community health center. Dr. Vaught came to CHC from HealthFirst Family Health Center in Fall River, Massachusetts, where he served as Chief Medical Officer. Prior to HealthFirst, he was a physician at the Naval Hospital in Naples, Italy. While overseas, he served as the Navy’s Regional Public Health Emergency Officer and was the public health lead in Europe and Africa, advising the Navy and Marine Corps on operational readiness to support more than 20,000 active duty, government civilians, and their families during COVID-19. Dr. Vaught earned his DO from Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, an MBA from Rockhurst University, and an MPH from the University of West Florida. He is a Fellow, American College of Healthcare Executives; Fellow, American Academy of Family Physicians; Member, American Academy of Physician Leaders; and served as a Medical Advisor to the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers.
Gary Wallace is Director of Community Engagement and Relations at Community Health Center, Inc. In this role, he is responsible for leading CHC’s statewide strategic plan for building healthier communities and addressing health equity through strong and responsive local, regional and statewide partnerships.
Gary was previously an operations specialist in the US Navy, and joined the City of Middletown Police Department in 1994, rising through several promotions to the rank of Captain.
Gary has deep roots in the community. His civic involvement extends to many state and national organizations, including service on the boards of directors of the Community Foundation of Middlesex County, Middlesex Health, the North End Action Team, Gilead Community Services, and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. He has served on advisory committees at CHC, Wesleyan, and Middlesex Community College. He mentors youth through the Middlesex Chamber, is active in the Middletown PBA Pipes and Drums, and is a member of American Legion Post 75. Gary has been recognized for outstanding community service by numerous organizations, including the Mayor’s office, Middletown Public Schools, the CT Coalition Against Domestic Violence, CT Sexual Assault Crisis Services, and 100 Men of Color.